GENETIC CORRELATIONS BETWEEN EWE PRODUCTIVITY TRAITS AND BIRTH, WEANING AND GREASY FLEECE WEIGHTS OF EWES IN TURKISH MERINO (KARACABEY MERINO) SHEEP

The aim of this study was to estimate genetic and phenotypic correlations between ewe productivity traits and birth, weaning and greasy fleece weights of ewes in Turkish Merino (Karacabey Merino) sheep. Data and pedigree information for Turkish Merino (Karacabey Merino) sheep used in this study were collected at the Marmara Animal Breeding Research Institute. The ewe productivity traits investigated were litter size at born (LSB), litter size at weaning (LSW), litter weight at born (LWB) and litter weight at weaning (LWW). Genetic parameters were estimated by REML procedure using DFREML programme. Estimates of additive genetic correlations between pairs of ewe productivity traits were positive, high and ranged from 0.839 to 0.939. Genetic correlations between BW and ewe productivity traits were small to moderate, ranging between -0.319 to 0.205. Additive genetic correlations between WW and ewe production traits were moderate to high and positive. Estimates of genetic correlation between GFW and LSB, LSW, LWB and LWW were -0.386, -0.373, -0.373 and -0.296, respectively. In conclusion, WW could be considered a selection criterion to indirectly improve the ewe productivity traits in Turkish Merino (Karacabey Merino) sheep.